*HP ENVY 14 & Envy 14 Beats (1XXX series) Owners Lounge, Part Deux*

I haven't been switching power plans around. Could it maybe be plugging it in? Also, when I run powercfg -energy, on BIOS f.05 f.06 or f.12 it says some kind of ACPI_PPC definition problem and says I should upgrade my firmware to the most recent. But I am on the most recent... and I still can't find a reason why the audio makes that awful noise sometimes...

Edit: Ok it does seem to occur when plugged in, but there is no informational logged about whether when I unplug it when it's on that it goes to 3 idle states instead of 2. I have muted my mic to see if maybe the awful audio noise is maybe it picking up the sound, hopefully I can get that awful audio noise to go away, this comp. is perfect if the audio noise is fixed...

 

Hey guys I really need help with getting the HP On Screen Display for Volume and such to work again. I can not get this to work. Any suggestions? I've tried installing/reinstalling the drivers still no dice!

 

install 3vrx from the link on first page.

 

Hello, maybe it's a stupid question, but do you know if it's possible to buy an Envy with the BrightView display, then buy a Radiance screen on HP PartSurfer when it'll be available, and change the screen WITHOUT losing the warranty ?

Thanks.

 

As long as you buy parts from HP Partsurfer the warranty will be intact, at least that's what HP UK told me

 

Even if YOU replace the screen ? It seems weird, but if HP UK told you so...

 

Hey guys, rare opportunity here... I ordered two E14's, One will have 320GB HDD and the other will have 160GB SSD. Any particular things you guys want me to compare? I'm going to for sure make a video comparing the startup speeds side to side, and the loading time for Adobe Photoshop CS4. (dont have Starcraft 2, can't make that comparison). Any requests?

Here are the specs:
HP ENVY 14 customizable Notebook PC

• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-520M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz
• 4GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
• 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 3.75 hours of battery life +++
• 14.5" diagonal HD+ HP Radiance Infinity LED Display (1600x900)

The only differentiating factors:
• 160GB (Solid State Drive Flash Module)
vs.
• 320GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection


hurry, I'm gonna return the 320gb HDD E14 back to HP after i make my comparisons.

 

Battery life is what I'd be interested in, if there can be a good experiment set up.

 

Well if that really is the refresh, then I already have one. It's a beats edition, model number 14-1102tx. The number may not look familiar because it's not an american model. Running on an i7-720QM, my hard disk is a samsung 640GB 7200 rpm one. Graphics card is still clocked at 450Mhz unfortunately, but I was able to clock mine to 550/800 without any problems at all, may decide to go further. 3DMark06 score is 6952 on base settings and 7586 OCed.

One major difference is the chassis, they've changed it. It's thicker and heavier, and I believe it offers much better cooling. I read somewhere else on this forum that the old i7 envy 14s were hitting 90 degrees after 15 minutes of prime95, mine maxed out at 87 after half an hour and dropped to 83 after the fans decided to kick into high gear.

 

could you post pictures? if your not busy...

 

sure I'll get that done tomorrow. I'm not sure what you'll be able to tell from pictures though, it looks basically the same from the outside.

The hard disk on this thing does make an annoying high pitched sound, I'm not sure exactly where it comes from, sort of a beeping sound, probably from the laser. I'm not kidding I can hear the optical laser on my mouse too.

 

two requests

i5-450m vs. i5-520m, and

radiance vs. non radiance display

 

I don't think it's the HDD, it's probably the CPU like on the other Envy's...

 

nah, it comes directly from the hdd compartment. Besides, it's not a whine, sort of a periodic, but not consistent beep. really sounds like my mouse.

EDIT: my god you're right, it's the CPU. looks like they didn't fix it after all -.- got it sorted out anyway

 

thanks! although it might not look too different it probably will look different from HP's edited photos

 

Woah, really? Is this different from the fact that the Balanced profile has a lowest power state of 5%? I actually just realized that since I got my Envy 14, I have never used Power Saver, although I used to use it all the time on my old laptop because I only got 2 hours of battery life with that.

 

guys, got a question. Recently my switchable graphics been playing up a bit, got my usual startup apps and IE8/chrome open and i keep getting a "switchable graphics cannot be used until all applications closed" or something along those lines. Why is it doing this?

 

Not sure if its playing up. Mine did this and closed IE and it switched over no problem.

 

lol yer just did that as well... ffs IE messing up everything. I only used chrome and firefox before, got rid of firefox cause it was causing excessive battery wear, using IE since i can use freedownload manager through that

 

IE is hooked into windows explorer so will give good battery life, not sure if it being hooked into windows explorer is anything to do with switchable graphics not working.

 

I just loaded IE9 Beta and after a small learning curve I am very impressed. It even has a Download manager built in that allows pausing etc.

A note of caution, it get srid of all IE8 but does tranfer your favorites,homepage etc. Also I found that it added the 32 bit version to the taskbar, I had to delete that shortcut and go to start menu and 'pin' the 64 bit version to taskbar. Overall it's mch faster than IE8 and I am still unsure if it has affected battery life....

 

sounds good, would you use it over chrome? I have become very much fond of chrome now

 

Never used chrome so no opinion. All I can sayis it is much faster than IE8

 

The applications use whichever graphics card is active. On the older macbook pro's, you had to log out and log back in to get the gfx switch. I must say that I have had a few times where I did close all applications and it still wouldn't switch. pretty sure it's from the apps hooking into the gfx chip while they are on.

 

How's that 64 bit flash working?

 

Was promted to an adobe link the first time I tried flash video and had install an update, now working fine.

 

hey guys I'm looking into buying the envy 14. just the base $999 without upgrades from the hp website. how much of a student discount does hp give?

and I know that because it's a new laptop that this will be hard to predict, but do you think this laptop will last me as long as the macbook pro 13?

 

the only fair comparison i can think of doing is a low use/idle endurance. If i tried to put both under heavy load there's no way i can put a statistically even amount of load on both. But i'll definitely do the endurance comparison.

Sorry man both will have the 520m and the radiance displays.




Any other comparison requests?

 

It runs cooler than a macbook pro 13.

 

HP gives 10% student discount before shipping.
I've never used a MBP longer than 5 minutes, so I am unsure

 

Anyone?....

 

It's hit or miss. Some report that their issues were fixed. Some not. Also, some have reported that their Envy has been with HP service for weeks. Some have been returned with physical damage to their notebooks. (A common story on this forum over the years.)

Do the math and then decide if the risk is worth the potential reward. It's a personal decision.

 

Can someone point me how to do a triple monitor, 3 screen with the Envy 14 using the Envy 14 monitor and dual external monitors. Not eyefinity, just 1 primary and two extended. I saw someone had doen it before but can't figure it out and can;t find istructions. I promised I searched.

Envy 14 with 1600 X 900 and two 1920 X 1080 external monitors. One hooked through HDMI port to DVI and the other with Mini Displayport (mdp) to HDMI adapter.


Thanks!

 

I just ordered the Envy 14 - I'm very excited. I called HP with the intent of purchasing and they gave me a small discount.

While ordering, the operator told me they will be discontinuing the radiance screen soon, perhaps even some time within the next two weeks. Of course, she could be wrong, but I figured it was worth pointing out for people that are on the fence about purchasing the Envy.

 

I remember messaging you because I had a similar problem. Honestly, I would just yell at them until they give you some discount or refund for your troubles, and then buy an external optical drive until their replacement comes. But they told me they don't send optical drives for the Envy 14 because it's not supposed to be user replaceable, but I think you're dealing with HP Canada who is likely more polite =). I'm afraid to send it in for repairs due to all the reports from people whose laptop came back worse than they sent it in.

 

Downloaded reils touchpad software and scrolling worked perfectly, but do u turn on zoming? it keeps zooming

 

Dammit. My Envy 14 won't turn on. Power button LED, wifi LED, and external lid flicker occasionally, but nothing turns on when I press power. I swapped/reinserted battery, changed outlets, nada.

I was able to have HP's HDX/Envy customer service overnight me a shipping package for repairs. I'm probably going to send it out tomorrow late afternoon after I finish my run. Really disappointed this had to happen so early. Oh well. Here's to hoping I don't get anymore problems.



Such a shame. I've been in love with this machine from day 1 too!

 

You can turn off zooming and enable the touch zones within the synaptics driver, and then map a keystroke (ctrl+ctrl-) in the settings of the touch zones, and then zoom will be tapping either the bottom or top corners whichever you prefer. I have done this as per taichicali's directions and the trackpad has been absolutely great. You may have to load a different version of the synaptics driver from device manager. Just go to update driver and browse my computer for driver, then select from a list of drivers on my computer, there will be 3 different versions listed, select either the 2nd or 3rd on the list to enable the touch zones.

 

So... I apologize if I missed something explaining this, but where did this bit about an Envy 14 refresh next month come from?

Oh, and @ zman, the MBPs run very cool as is... and you're saying the Envy is cooler?

 

Really? I returned one b/c of the high temps (around 50 degrees C idle) and it's sluggish performance, this was a 13 inch MBP, but I also have an iMac that I have had to install SMC fan control to keep it's temps in a range that I am comfortable with. Envy has idle temps anywhere from the 20 degrees C to the 30 degrees C range when idle. At load the temps get to the 50's for the processor and the 60-70 range for the gfx chip. But I don't do a whole lot of intensive stuff. A little gaming sometimes, mostly reading on the internet.

 

Interesting. It's been said before that HP is looking for a new manufactuer and untill then, these will be out of stock. They may just never bring it back like they did with the 13. That had a beautiful screen, but they never put it back again.

 

Yes, and yes.

Source: My one month's worth of ownership experience.


Owned a Macbook Pro 13(2010 version) for one month. I found the temps to be high. I paid $10 for CoolBook to undervolt the CPU and managed to bring the temps down a few degrees C. But I couldn't get the CPU temps to below high 40s.

I've also read plenty of news/blog reviews that report that the new Macbook Pro 15 runs warmer.

So yes. If my Envy 14 is comparable of all Envy 14s, it runs cooler than the Macbook Pro at roughly 35-38C. Hotter than my G50VT (33-35), but still cooler than the MBP 15.

 

My i5 450 is running at about 25 degrees C right now according to HWmonitor. This is on integrated gfx, it seems to run in the 30's when on the dedicated GPU.

 

I ordered mine 2 days ago...
We'll see about the price drop. I hope I can call them and ask them to discount mine to the new price or I'll just RMA it.

Are you over the 21 day period? Should I get the extended warranty? Did you get the extended warranty? I don't want to pay for this thing and have it crash on me 1 month later.

 

You get 1 year warranty on parts. Some people have said that some credit cards offer insurance/warranties that are much better than the manufacturers warranty. It would be up to you whether you think you should get extra warranty. Check online for people who have had their warranties to see how they have done. Never hurts to do a little research before you lay down $ on something.

 

Holy moley, that is chilly!




Hoping/praying my Envy returns from the repair depot in its current cosmetic condition. I've heard horror stories of notebooks coming back with chips, dents, paint nicks, etc.

 

No, I wasn't within my 21 days, so it's off to the repair depot. All HP notebooks come with HP's limited parts/repair warranty. After that, it's up to you to buy an extended warranty. I bought 3-year Square Trade warranty for mine and paid about $130 after a $30 off coupon.

 

Oh wow...Im sorry to hear your E14 have issues. Did you use it under certain circumstances?Like outdoor, heat, wet? What did you do before it become dead? What version of BIOS are you on?

 

nvm, I'm an idiot.

 

Nothing extraordinary. I carry it around school grounds everyday. Mine shipped with the newer (but not newest) bios back in late July.


Word of advice: I wouldn't overanalyze my problem as being somehow representative of all other Envy 14s out there.